Zero Play
by Shade Embry
Summary: The sequel to "Rush." Liz, CTU's tech expert and Jack's friend, tries to protect him from her ally Mason's wrath.


TITLE: Zero Play  
  
AUTHOR: Brittany "Thespis" Frederick  
  
E-MAIL: baltimorelt@yahoo.com  
  
RATING: PG for language  
  
CATEGORY: Drama, Missing Scene  
  
SUMMARY: Trying to save it wasn't good enough, but maybe she could vindicate him. It would be hard, but everything was hard in her eyes.  
  
CONTINUITY: The sequel to "Rush."  
  
SPOILERS: 4:00-5:00 PM  
  
RECOMMENDED LISTENING: "The Edge," Lifehouse  
  
  
  
I was blowing in the wind  
  
And I can see the sun setting on the hill  
  
It's almost gone and this feels too real to me  
  
To believe in something greater than I can understand  
  
Just to know the change  
  
Now don't let me leave this moment  
  
Hold me in this place  
  
Where everything is clearer than all of before  
  
And everything makes sense  
  
And you say  
  
Stand on the edge of tomorrow  
  
Don't close your eyes  
  
Stand on the edge  
  
And don't be afraid to fall  
  
- "The Edge," Lifehouse  
  
  
  
  
  
As the first wind faded and the second bit into her, she kept moving, down the hotel hallway, into the room across the hall from the scene of utter violence where operatives swarmed and chaos reigned principal. Still stained in blood, pulse pounding in her ears, she took the cell phone out of Jack's hand and let Mason finish his latest tirading sentence before she spoke, still moving, still chasing.  
  
"George, don't say another word right now. I have about ten seconds before someone else will need me, so here goes: keep Division and Chappelle off our back, and I promise you that when this comes down, I will explain every word to you. That's the best I can do for you right now, so just let this go." She pushed the end button and hung up on him even as she handed the phone back, leaving Jack surprised as she started trying to think of a counterpoint.  
  
Drazen was being attended to, and Nina had Elizabeth Nash in custody, examining her about her sudden attack on Alexis, but none of that did Liz any good. She wished for the peace she'd had in the hallway, then realized it was the peace that was momentary in a world like this, in a job like hers, and began searching for something to do that would make a difference.  
  
She could feel Jack's eyes on the back of her neck as she slid into one of the chairs in front of the surveillance terminal, the one he'd occupied, and started punching keys with a force that brought each of them down hard and fast with a definite sound. The video transfer was quick, maybe a couple of seconds, but then it was done and she'd have the whole thing to look at frame by frame later, when she returned to CTU. Only when it was through did she turn in the chair and look at Jack, who stood there looking back at her, surprised at how she could suddenly be so possessed of adrenaline.  
  
"What do we do now?" she said quietly.  
  
"What did you just do?"  
  
"I sent the video back to CTU so I could take a look at it later."  
  
"What'd you say to Mason?"  
  
"That if he'd shut up and sit down, I'd get back to him." Liz knew he'd ask the questions, so she just repeated, "What do we do now, Jack?"  
  
"Well, we won't know anything on either Drazen or the drop for at least another half an hour. If you want to go back to CTU, I can leave Nina in charge."  
  
"Are you comfortable with that? You don't have to come back with me?"  
  
"No, but Mason's going to want to talk to me."  
  
"Mason can deal with me for the time being if you want to stay."  
  
"Let's just get it taken care of," he insisted, crossing the hall to tell Nina that he was leaving her in charge. Liz started toward the elevator and Jack caught up with her. As they waited he glanced to her. "What do you think my chances are with Mason?" he said, and she studied him for a moment. "I can't tell you that yet," she said, "Ask me again later."  
  
Later came and went as they arrived at CTU. Jack, who had every intention of changing clothes and getting the blood off of himself, was surprised when Liz bypassed the idea altogether and immediately started up the stairs to his office, which Mason had co-opted.  
  
"You're not going to change first?"  
  
She turned and looked back at him, "I think it'll make a statement," she supposed and he watched her go. It would definitely make a statement. She was going to present herself to the District Director, who had seen them leave immaculately dressed, with her shirt untucked, her sleeves rolled up above her elbows, drenched in a terrorist's blood. Mason would have something to notice. He watched for a moment, then turned and walked away. Her deal with Mason was her business even if he never understood why she did it.  
  
"What the hell happened to you?" were the first words out of Mason's mouth when he saw Liz.  
  
"I responded to my job," she explained as she crossed to in front of the desk where he was working and began trying to look less like she'd just been through fire and back.  
  
"It was a horrible plan, Liz."  
  
"It could have worked, George. She made the plant, that part of the plan worked. Elizabeth Nash struck out on her own."  
  
"You should have been prepared for that."  
  
"Well, excuse me, but the psychics at Cal Tech never got back to me." Liz exhaled. "Look, George, no one saw it coming. She showed no signs of abnormal behavior and we didn't know she could find a weapon in the room, and we cased that room before the op went down. I have the video if you want to see it."  
  
"I don't need to see the video. I need to know what you expect me to tell Chappelle." Mason was looking at her levelly now, and just to make her point she leaned on the desk, making eye contact, encroaching into his space. She hoped it made his skin crawl.  
  
"O.B.E., George."  
  
"What?"  
  
"O.B.E. Overtaken by events. We did everything that we could do, hell, we're still doing it. You cannot fault us for what no one could see coming." She was exasperated now and her fingers dug into the surface of the desk. "We're talking about Jack, George…"  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Liz, I give you a lot of slack, but I'd suggest you lower your voice," he said harshly. "Jack is under investigation, remember? Palmer saved him from spending the day in confinement. This won't look good for him and at this rate it won't look good for you."  
  
"I don't care what it looks like for me. George, I swear to a God I don't believe in, if you want me to break down that film minute by minute and testify in front of Chappelle, I'll do it."  
  
Mason sighed and his tone softened. "This isn't about Chappelle or Alberta Green or even Ryan Sealey over at District, Liz. I'm the quarterback, it pretty much stops with me. But give me a second and just answer me one thing: why do you keep sacrificing yourself for Jack Bauer?"  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Stop with the smart-ass answers and tell me why. You do this more than you think, Liz. You're always, *always* defending him, to me, to the guys at Division, to a lot of people. That's time and energy that could go to better use. You could be Chief of Technology at District right now. Why do you keep doing this?"  
  
"It goes back three years, George. Three years of history. There are very few people that I trust. Jack has let me into his life and I owe him a great deal. If I were to explain it we'd be here for a long time, but we don't have that time and that's not the point."  
  
"You want me to do what? Pretend this didn't happen?"  
  
"I want you to step back and let us try and fix this. Trust us and let us make this work. We found out about something going down, we can capitalize us. Don't bench us without a reason."  
  
Mason studied her for a long moment. "I can't dissuade you, can I?"  
  
"No, sir."  
  
"Give me the tape."  
  
"It's on the server under my received files folder."  
  
"Liz, I can't make you a promise."  
  
"I'm not asking for one."  
  
"One of these days…" Mason warned as she started to the door.  
  
"You won't be able to protect him, I know." She had her hand on the door.  
  
"No, I mean I won't be able to protect either of you," Mason said, and left it at that as he watched Liz exit the office. As he pulled up the video file he couldn't help but notice the blood she'd left on the desk.  
  
Liz crossed the CTU floor to her locker and grabbed the clothes she had changed out of when she left for the surveillance detail, then headed toward the women's restroom. As she was going in, Jack was coming out of the men's room, cleaned up and looking a little better for wear. "How did it go?" he said, handing her the jacket she'd handed him when they'd walked in.  
  
"He'll back off for now."  
  
"What do you mean, for now?" Jack searched her face and she exhaled a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "I mean that he'll do it for me, but one of these days he's not going to be able to do this anymore."  
  
They stared at each other for a minute until Jack finally nodded. "I'll be in the break room," he said quietly, the request/pleading hidden in his tone of voice. She managed a weak smile, then disappeared into the ladies' room. When the door shut, she leaned against it with a heavy heart, then began changing clothes, hoping to bury her newfound anxiety with Alexis Drazen's blood.  
  
When she was through, she stood there staring at herself in the mirror. Finally, she stepped out of the restroom and shoved her clothes in her locker, slamming the door shut.  
  
Milo glanced over at her. "Liz…?" he prompted.  
  
She turned to look at him, "Don't worry about it," she said, then walked in the direction of the break room, heart in her throat. Her saving graces were through. Now it was time to find Jack, and with this discussion, who knows what else she might not like.  
  
Elizabeth Nash's voice rang in her head. "It goes with the territory." 


End file.
